Storm
by The End's Envoy
Summary: Cloud returns after a gruelling battle with Sephiroth, and all Leon wants to do is care for his lover.


Hej hej.

Short piece I wrote really quickly at like 12:30 at night. Meh.

DISCLAIMER- Do not own Kingdom Hearts. It will be a cold day in hell when I do.

#####

It was late and Leon was sitting alone on the couch, watching an old Nibel film of Cloud's.

He wasn't taking anything in, just blankly staring at the subtitles that flicked up on the screen.

He was only listening to the language that reminded him so much of his lover.

Cloud had been gone for three weeks, searching for Sephiroth in a vain hope to get rid of him forever.

But he'd never been gone for this long, and Leon was worried. He just wanted his younger lover with him, to hold him close and kiss him. To gently run his fingers through silky soft spikes and make tender love to him all night long. Just live life like a normal gay couple in their early- and mid-twenties, doing domestic things together when no-one was watching them; their façades dissolving as they relaxed alone, away from prying eyes.

Cloud could act like a normal 22 year-old should, laughing and joking, playing videogames and watching films, cuddling with his lover and living happily. Leon could do the same, and the two men would find peace in each other. The blonde could be himself and break out of his shell slightly, being the cute blonde that Leon fell in love with.

Great forks of lightning split the sky and thunder rumbled when Leon stood up to get a beer. The rain started to fall down and Leon was expecting a small body of jump into his arms, where he would comfort a shivering blonde while the storm ran it's course. Leon both loved and hated storms; hated them because they'd make Cloud scared and cry, and the older brunette despised the tears that fell from the glowing blue eyes, he'd feel so helpless and Cloud would look so lost. Yet he loved storms because he found them soothing, and he loved comforting his blonde lover (as sadistic as it sounds).

It had been hours since the storm had started, and Leon did not worry. Since the arrival of Heartless, storms had become an often occurrance in Hollow Bastion. Some were worse than others, but little to no damage was done. Even tonight's storm - in which the rain hammered and the wind howled and lightning and thunder were often - would not be considered a major storm.

A dull thump brought Leon's attention to the front door, and he dashed over.

"Oh Cloud..."

In all of his 25 years of existance, Leon had never seen anyone in such a state.

Cloud was shirtless, his trousers shredded and torn. Deep lacerations covered his torso and arms, his wing sporting a large tear down the middle of the delicate membrane. His hair was blood-soaked and matted, the spikes drooping and dull. Shivering and drenched, Cloud whimpered and looked up at Leon, before turning his broken body away and vomiting on the stone floor.

Barely anything came out, and it sounded like Cloud had been dry heaving long before he turned up at their front door.

Quickly grabbing the blanket that was thrown over the settee, Leon crouched down in front of the blonde and wrapped the thick cloth over the small frame and lifting his lover up with horrifying ease. Cloud had never weighed much despite his lightly muscled frame and sheer strength, but now he was horrendously thin.

Shutting the door with his foot, Leon carried a shivering Cloud into the bathroom, where he knelt down and placed his lover down on his lap.

Cloud let out a small whimper and hiss of pain, and Leon internally winced.

"Shhh, sorry..." Leon placed a gentle kiss on a pale cheek.

"Fuck, you're freezing." The older man mumbled, reaching over to turn the tap on to run a bath.

Cloud looked up at Leon with bruised and bloodshot eyes, showing his too-pale skin and blue lips.

"Oh baby...why did you do this?" Leon pleaded softly, running gentle fingers through droopy spikes.

When the bath finished running, Leon slowly undressed Cloud and placed his fragile body into the bath.

Cloud whimpered and flapped his wing, his right hand clenching into a fist.

"N-nei..." Cloud moaned, trying to weakly squirm from Leon's grip and the warm water.

"Shhhhh...it's just a bath, you like baths." Leon soothed, resting Cloud in the water. "Relax."

Leon grabbed a flannel and gently started to wipe the blood away from the wounds, watching as Cloud's muscles twitched and the water ran red.

He washed Cloud's hair and conditioned it, guilt tearing through him when shampoo trickled into a deep gash that stretched across Cloud's cheek and the blonde whimpered loudly.

"Sorry babe."

Finishing the task of washing Cloud, Leon simply let his younger lover rest in the still-warm water, watching Cloud's cheeks slowly regain colour and the blue tinge fade from his lips while he ran his fingers through now-soft spikes.

"I'm going to take you out now." Leon warned quietly, lifting Cloud's thin body from the bath and holding him against his chest.

Wrapping a thick, fluffy towel around a small form, Leon grabbed the first-aid kit from under the sink and flicked it open, rummaging for bandages.

Removing the towel, Leon could see the the extent of Cloud's injuries, the lacerations and bruises that littered the pale body beneath him, the hipbones that were sharper than Leon remembered, the now-washboard chest, the torn wing.

Casting a Cure and opening the bandages, Leon started to wrap them round Cloud's torso, arms and legs, covering the major lacerations.

"I'll stitch them tomorrow, but your wing I'm going to do now."

Cloud looked up at him with such pain and enhaustion in his blue eyes that Leon wanted to wrap the blonde in a thick duvet, hold him impossibly close and kiss his wounds better, shield him from harm and everything bad.

His little Cloud had been through enough. He deserves no more.

"Please, just let me stitch it up." Leon pleaded, placing a tender kiss on Cloud's temple, inhaling the scent of clean hair.

"Nei..." Came the soft plea in Nibel.

"I'll be quick, I promise."

Cloud nodded hesitantly and sat up, still facing Leon.

The older brunette stood up and left, quickly returning with a pair of boxers and some pyjama trousers.

"Get some clothes on you first..." Leon mumbled, helping Cloud get into the boxers and pyjamas.

They were too big, but Cloud was grateful for the comfort they gave him.

"Face me." Leon mumbled.

Cloud faced Leon and the larger man threaded some surgical thread through the needle and held it up, his other hand reaching out to gently stroke the wing.

"Extend it, baby." Leon coaxed.

Cloud whimpered as he extended his wing to it's full span of eleven feet, the membrane stretching and the tear showing clearly. It wasn't overly large, but Leon would not leave it, knowing the tear would grow with use and hinder Cloud's ability to fly.

"It may hurt."

Leon inserted the needle through the membrane, Cloud's arm twitching and Leon gently shushed him.

Five minutes later, Leon finished stitching Cloud's wing, and he cut the thread and tied it off.

"All done." He smiled tenderly, and pulled Cloud close once again.

Three weeks of not seeing Cloud.

He wanted to hold his younger lover close, keep him warm and fall asleep with the gorgeous blonde in his arms.

"I've missed you so much, baby." Leon whispered, kissing the blonde's temple, one arm wrapped around a small waist and the hand cradling the back of Cloud's head, the blonde's face buried in his older lover's neck, reveling in the comforts his lion gave him.

Leon did not realize that he was crying.

"I was so worried about you." The brunette whispered shakily, his hand rubbing comforting circles on a bony back. "I was so scared that I'd never see you again, that you'd've been maimed or killed." Cloud whimpered, burying himself deeper into Leon's neck. "I love you so much, babe. Never forget it."

The older man could not control the tears that escaped from his eyes, and all he did was crush Cloud closer to his body, yet tenderly so he would not cause more harm to the beautiful man in his arms.

"If something happened to you-" Leon hastily wiped his eyes before returning his hand to the back of Cloud's head. "I don't know what I'd do. I don't want to lose you."

Cloud looked up at Leon with big blue eyes, a small, soft smile twitching his lips and the younger blonde placed a tender kiss on Leon's cheek, before blushing and returning to a warm, broad chest, yawning slightly.

Leon certainly would not know what to do if he lost Cloud.

#####


End file.
